South African military withdraw 50 peacekeepers from UN mission in Congo

The South African military stated that they are withdrawing around 50 peacekeepers from the United Nations (UN) mission in Congo. They will be facing court marital because they violated disciplinary codes, a spokesman from the military said.

According to a statement released from the South African military the troops were deployed in the eastern part of Congo as part of a unit with a mandate to combat rebel groups. The statement also said that the personnel had compromised the security if other South African troops and would therefore be facing prosecution.

Brigadier General Xolani Mabanga said on Thursday that the violations included leaving base after curfew.

The statement said that these personnel had not only violated the South African Military conduct codes but also the codes of the UN peacekeepers, reported the Associated Press news agency.

Throughout the years South Africa has contributed forces to the peacekeeping efforts in Congo and in 2013 they announced they were going to contribute 1,345 troops to the “intervention brigade” in Congo, reported Al Jazeera.

Africa Times is an independent participative online news site for Sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to empower all African voices through publishing content by a range of people, from academics to bloggers. We are dedicated to bringing the world an African view on life, up-to-date African news and analysis.

Launched in July 2015, Africa Times is an independent participative online news site for Sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to empower all African voices through publishing content by a range of people, from academics to bloggers. We are dedicated to bringing the world an African view on life, up-to-date African news and analysis.